Legends of Remthal

Heroes fight across a broken kingdom and delve in to its lost secrets, in order to combat a horde of orcs and their shadowy master. (online game)

The game is set in a region that was once on the outskirts of the Nerath empire: a kingdom called Remathal. Remathal featured a castle town with a few scattered villages, and then homes out in the wilderness for farmers, hunters, lumberjacks, and the like. It was once said that you could walk from the lake in the south east to the mountains in the north without ever encountering trouble. The kingdom was kept safe by the clerics of Erathis, and the Paladin King, along with his Knights of the Realm. While these orders kept peace, they drove back the primal-worship of the wild people to the south and the elves to the west, while trading and embracing their dwarven allies to the north.

Seven years ago, the orcs of the far northern badlands rallied together in to an unprecedented army. Lead by a charismatic leader, Dolthan, who the orcs believed to be fulfilling an ancient prophecy of a tribal culture, they struck towards Castle Rema, burning the villages, sacking the monasteries, and driving the villagers in to hiding. They threw back the elves and the dwarves that stood against them, and let them hide in their deadly forests and mountain fortresses. Dolthan’s cause was grander than bloodshed; he went out after conquest, driving his horde directly to the castle. They besieged the Castle, and Dolthan’s dark magic was able to break though the Paladin King’s defenses.

In a fierce show down in the king’s very throne room, Dolthan struck him down with shadowy magic, and took the crown, the throne, and the castle for himself. He ordered the young prince of the kingdom to be thrown in the dungeon, and set out consolidating his control over the areas around the castle.
Once the presence of the Knights of the Realm faded, the monsters they had kept in line began to come out of hiding. Goblins and kobolds began to range out of their lairs, lizardmen came out from behind their waterfall fortress to conquer the marsh, waterways, and great lake. Ghostly spirits and darker things, once kept at bay by the priests of Erathis, now began to roam free. Bandits and mercenaries came to the region to exploit what little was left.

The villagers that survived this onslaught fled to whatever safety they could find. The humans of the kingdom hid in caves and forgotten monasteries that the orcs could not find, in ancient temples devoted to gods other than Erathis or to wild spirits. The elves retreated to their forbidden woods in the south-west, threatening with pain of death anyone who entered without permission. The halflings of the south-eastern lake and waterways fled to wherever they could, be it sunken marsh temples or to their human friends. The dwarves retreated to their mountain stronghold, although a few with strong ties stayed among the humans, forging weapons for their self defense.

Now, Dolthan has begun to send out scouts and spies, searching for something. Over the past seven years he has researched the mystic prophecies and his own magic, and is ready for the next phase of his plan.